Spring setting and tempering apparatus



April 21, 192s. 1,534,553

P. RIEDELE ET AL SPRING SETTING ANUTEMPERING APPARATUS Filed July 11. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l l l l n l l s l l l l Dwerg Zara PhzZzpzeZa April 21, 1925. l 1.534,543

P. RIEDELE ET AL SPRING SETTING AND TEMPERING APPARATUS Filed July 11. 1922 2 sums-sheet z lulnmlf mM-ra l IMI/enfans Q .flz'ZzQv zedek Patented Apr. 21, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP RIEDELE, PAUL B. CASON, AND KENNETH R. HERIB'IAN,A 0F LOS ANGELES, CALI- roRNIA, AssIGNons To UNITED sTATEs SPRING co., INc., FORNITI, A coRroRATIoN oF CALIFORNIA.

OF LOS ANGELES, CALI- SPRING SETTING AND 'FEMIERING APPARATUS.

Application ined July 11, 1922. serial No. 574,236.

To all 'wlw/m, it may concern: Y

Be it known that we, PHILIP RIEDELE, PAUL B. CAsoN, and KENNETH R. HERMAN, citizens ot the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Spring Setting and Tempering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to spring setting and tempering apparatus, particularly adapted to the manufacture of leasprings commonly used on vehicles.

In apparatus heretofore used for this purpose it has been 'customary to bend the` spring blanks between the bending jaws of the setting mechanism and then to submerge the entire setting mechanism containing the springs into a bath of tempering liquid. l This procedure necessitates the bodily movement of the heavy and cumbersome setting mechanism at every operation, which not only requires a large amount of valuable space, and intricate rictional producing machinery which consumes an excessive amount of power, but is also necessarily slow in operation. y

It is the main object ot our invention to overcome the above mentioned ditiiculties by producing a novel and elicient means for eliminating the necessity of moving the bending mechanism containing the bent and set spring members, by moving the oil or other tempering liquid in such manner asv to cause it to surround the springs after being set.

Another object of the invention is to provide an eiiioient fluid pressure controlled means for operating the bending head as well as the tempering liquid.

A further object is to provide means for regulating the time intervals of the submer-` sion of the spring leaves in the bath of tem-` pering material.

Other objects of theV invention will be more fully disclosed in the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an apparatus embodying our invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the same taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is atransverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinalsection through the `apparatus taken on the line 4 4 ot' Fig. l, showing the position of the bending heads when closed to perform a bending operation andthe bent leaves immersed in the tempering bath.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section taken lon the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

In carrying out our invention we employ a reservoir 10 'of the desired height,open at its top and provided with the bottom l1. Resting upon the. bottom 11 and secured thereto are a plurality of transversely dis- ,posed timbers 12 which are suitably spaced apart in parallel relation, and adapted to support the longitudinally disposed I beams 13 which are secured thereto and are also suitably spaced apart and in parallel relation. Y

v Disposed in the reservoir and resting upcn and secured in bottom 11 between the Y timbers 12 are the slat members 14 upon which rest a plurality 'of tanks 15. The tanks 15 are closed at their tops and opened at their bottoms and the bottom edges of their walls are. provided with inturned langes which rest upon the slats 14 and are secured thereto in any desired manner.

By the above described construction it will be obvious that when liquid is placed in the reservoir 10 it will also flow into the tanks 15 and maintain the same level there in, said tanks being provided with suitable vents to relieve the air pressure, which will hereinafter be more fully described.

Secured t0 the I beams 13 are the longitudinally disposed rails or tracks 16, which are higher at their central portions as at 17 (see Fig. 6) to which portion is secured the 23 and 24 having curved edges which oppose the edges 19 and 20 and are parallel therewith.

The plate 18 is adapted to be provided with the usual and any well known type `of adjustable bending keys 25 (only a few of which are shown) adjacent the curved edges thereof and is also provided with a plurality 'of longitudinally disposed ribs --aon its upper surface adjacent its edges for the support of the spring blanks and 'to provide drainage channels for the oil, in order to prevent the warping of the blanks; and the plates 23 and 24 are adapted to be provided with corresponding. bending keys 26 (only a -few of which are shown), thus two pair of spring leaf bending jaws are formed adapted to bend two springs at one operation. The plates 28 and 24 are adapted to be moved toward the edges 19 and 2O of plate 18 to bend the leaves 27 and 28 which are inserted between the keys mounted therein, as more clearly shown in Fig. 4 of thel drawings, by means of the pistons 29 and 30 secured to the rods 31 and 32 which are respectively pivoted at 83 and 34 to the plates 23 yand 24.` s p The pistons 29 and 30 are mounted to slide in the cylinders 35, the connecting rods 31 32 passing throughaperturcs in the ends thereof as more clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Pipes 36and 37 lead into the cylinders adjacent the ends thereof and back of the pistons 29 and 3Q, and communicate with a sourceof air under high pressure (not shown), the air being controlled by means of a control valve -A- interposed in the piping system between the air supply and the cylinders, the pipe 88 entering the valve leading' to the source of air supply and the pipe 39 being an exhaust pipe leading to the atmosphere. The valve *Aiis provided with a governing lever 40 which when in the position shown in full lines closes connection between the air supply and the lcylinders, when, in the position shown in dotted lines to the right opens communication between the air supply and the cylinders, and when in ythe position shown in dotted lines to the left closesI communication between the source of air supply and the cylinders and opens communication between the cylinders and the atmosphere.

Pipes 41 lead from the central portions of the 'cylinders 35 and open communication between said cylinders and the source of air supply under high pressure, a control valve -B- being interposed therebetween, Which is provided with a lever 42 and an eX- haustport- 43. `When the lever 42 is in the position shown in full lines communication between the cylinders and the atmosphere is open through the exhaust port 43 and when said lever is in the position shown in dotted lines communication between the cylinders and the air under pressure is opened. By the above recited construction it will be obvious that the plates ,23 and 24 may be movedl toward and from the edges of the plate 18 with force and speed to perform the bending operation and to release the bent members after thev have been operated upon.

The tanks 15 have con'nnunication with a source of air (not shown) under a low pressure, which is adapted to pass into the top of saidtanks, above the level of the tempering` liquid therein, through a pipe 44, a. control valve -C- bein@ interposed in said pipe between the source of air supply and the tanks. The control valve ,MC- is provided with a control lever 45 which when in the position shown in full lines opens communication between the tanks and the atmosphere through the exhaust pipe 46 Iand cuts olf the air from the source of supply, thus permitting the tempering liquid 47 in the tanks to maintain the same level as that in the main reservoir 10, such level being below the bending jaws, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. YWhen the lever 5 is in the middle position shown in dotted lines communication is' opened to the tanks 15 from the source of air pressure, thus causing the liquid to be forced through the open bottoms thereof into the main reservoir and thereby raising the level of the liquid in the reservoir, and as a consequence submerging the bent spring leaves for the tempering operation, as clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and El, the apparatus is in an inactive position, thebending jaws being open ain. all of the valves being set to cut off the air pressure from the various mechanisms. The spring ,leaf blank members 2? and 28 are placed between the two sets of bending keys 25 and 2G, the lever 40 of valve A- is then manipulated to cause the air to liow into the ends of cylinders 35, thereby causing the jaws to close and bend the leaf blank members to the desired shape, the lever 4() may then be movexl back to its central position thus holding the jaws in closed relation.

Immediately after the foregoing operation the lever 45 of valve -C is manipulated to cause the air to How into the tanks 15 and thereby raise the level of the tempering liquid, thus submerging the leaves in the tempering bath. After the leaves have been submerged for a sutlicient lengthof time to properlytemper the same, the lever 45 ot' valve is manipulated to exhaust the air from tanks 15 thereby permitting the tempering liquid to assume its normal level., and in'nnediately thereafter, or if desired in unison therewith, the lever. 4l)l of valve A is manipulated to exhaust the air from belllll lll) tween the piston heads 29 and 30 and the cylinder ends, and the lever 4:2 of valve -B- is manipulated to permit the air lto flow into the cylinder, thereby causing the bending jaws to open. The finished spring leaves may then be removed and the operation may be repeated.

Although we have shown the air system for manipulating the various operations as controlled'by several valves it will be obvious that a simple valve having a single control lever ma)7 be so constructed as to per form the functions of the several valves, and that the opening and closing of the various ports may be so timed as to eliminate all waste of time in the various steps of the operation.

What we claim is zl. A spring setting and tempering apparatus, comprising a fluid reservoir, a spring setting or clamping mechanism disposed in said reservoir, and means for altering the fluid level in said reservoir.

2. A spring setting and tempering apparatus, comprising a fluid reservoir, a spring setting mechanism disposed within said reservoir, means for operating the spring setting mechanism, and means for altering the level of the tempering fluid in the reservoir to submerge the setting mechanism.

3. A spring setting and tempering apparatus, comprising a reservoir adapted to receive a tempering fluid, an inverted tank open at its bottom mounted in said reser voir into which the tempering fluid is per mitted to flow, a spring setting mechanism disposed Within said reservoir above said tank, and means for admitting a fluid under pressure into said tank to cause the liquid level to rise and submerge the spring setting mechanism.

4. A spring setting and tempering apparatus, comprising a reservoir adapted to receive a tempering fluid,- two pair of oppositely disposed spring setting jaws located within said reservoir, a plurality of tanks mounted in said reservoir, means for oper-- ating said setting jaws by fluid under pressure, and means for admitting fluid under pressure into said tanks, whereby the fluid level in said reservoir may be caused to rise to submerge the springs mounted in the setting jaws or to fall after a setting and tempering operaion.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, a fluid reservoir, open ended tanks mounted in said reservoir, the open ends of said tanks being disposed opposite and above the bottom wall of said reservoir, means for supplying compressed air to said tanks to raise the fluid level in said reservoir, means to exhaust the air in said tanks after a spring tempering operation, a spring setting or clamping mechanism mounted in said reservoir above said tanks, and pneumatic means for operating the setting or clamping mechamsm.

6. In a spring setting and tempering apparatus, a fluid receiving reservoir, a spring setting mechanism mounted within said reservoir, and pneumatic means for causing the fluid level in said reservoir to rise and submerge the spring setting mechanism or to recede after a tempering operation.

7. In a spring setting and tempering apparatus, a fluid receiving reservoir, a spring setting mechanism mounted in said reservoir, pneumatic means to operate the spring setting mechanism, and pneumatic means to alter the fluid level in said reservoir to submerge the spring blanks held by the setting mechanism during the tempering operation.

8. A spring setting and tempering appa ratus, comprising a fluid receiving reservoir, means to rigidly hold a spring in position in said reservoir while the same is being tempered, and means to alter the fluid level in said reservoir to submerge the spring being tempered and to cause the fluid level to recede after the tempering operation.

9. A spring setting and tempering apparatus, comprising a fluid receiving tank, and pneumatic means connected with said reservoir to cause the fluid level to rise or recede .in said reservoir.

In witness that We claim the foregoing we have hereunto subscribed our names this 16th day of June, 1922.

PHILIP EIEDELE.

, PAUL B. cAsoN. ,Y KENNETH E. HERMAN. 

